Thunderbirds Series 1, Episode 5: Sails of Fire
by SatNavDan
Summary: International Rescue are called out when a fire breaks out aboard a massive oil rig in the North Sea. TB1 and 2 have a difficult time trying rescue the men trapped aboard. Meanwhile, Zoe returns to the old family home in Norfolk to host a garden party in celebration of her late husband. But the happiness is shattered when the village windmill begins to burn as well.
1. Chapter 1

DT-1 was the private jet of the Tracy family. It had been built as a means of transport for whenever Daniel or any other member of the family wanted to travel around the world without revealing their cover as International Rescue.

Today, it was Zoë who was taking the jet, being flown to England by Heidi Rowley. DT-1 was kept on Moratoa Island as there wasn't any room in Thunderbird 2's vast hangar anymore. Its place in the hangar had been taken by Thunderbird 6, the old de-Havilland Tiger Moth bi-plane which was only really used as a training aircraft. Heidi took the responsibility of both her duties on Moratoa and flying DT-1 very seriously. Even though she was very happy with her work on the island, she was always pleased when she got the chance to fly Daniel or any of the others to wherever they wanted to go.

Zoë had been dozing in the cabin when Heidi called her over the PA. "We're just approaching the South Coast of England now, Mrs Tracy. Our ETA to Norwich is about twenty-five minutes."

Zoë checked her watch. "Thank you, Heidi," she said, sleepily. "I'd better get myself ready."

It wasn't long before DT-1 was over England crossing over Sussex and Kent before passing over the River Thames into Essex, Suffolk and then finally into Norfolk where they began their final approach to Norwich Airport.

"Norwich Tower, this Private Jet DT-1," Heidi said into her radio headpiece. "Approaching you from the South. Request landing instructions."

"DT-1 this is Norwich Tower," came the reply from a female operator in the airport's control tower. "You are clear for landing on Runway 1-Bravo."

"Roger, Runway 1-Bravo," said Heidi. "Thank you, Norwich." She flicked a few switches on the control panel. "Mrs Tracy, we're about to land at Norwich. Please fasten your safety-belt."

Zoë did so and readied herself for the landing. As she felt the plane descend, she looked out of the window at the clear, blue skies around them. It had been a long time since she'd last been in England, and deep down inside her was a feeling that was making her feel uncomfortable. "Calm down now, Zoë," she said to herself. "I cannot let our guests down. Robert would never approve of that."

There was a soft bump as DT-1 landed on the runway. Zoë felt her stomach churn slightly. Take-offs she never minded, but it was always the landings that she didn't like.

Heidi then taxied the plane through the airport past all the large airliners and other smaller planes to a secure waiting area on the western side near to one of the car parks.

As Zoë disembarked from DT-1, Heidi helped her with her luggage. At the bottom of the stairs was a sleek, black Bugatti Veyron with two smartly-dressed men and a woman standing beside it. The two men hurried forwards and took Zoë's luggage off her and Heidi whilst the woman opened the right-side rear passenger door for Zoë to step inside.

"Thank you for bringing me, Heidi," Zoë said gratefully. "I do hope it hasn't delayed any of your other work for Daniel?"

"Not at all, Mrs Tracy," Heidi said. "Do you want me to call Daniel and let him know you've arrived safely?"

"If you wouldn't mind, yes please," said Zoë. "And tell him that I'll give him and Kerry a call once I'm settled in."

"Of course," said Heidi. "Hope it all goes well. Take care."

Zoë then gave Heidi a little kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, hun," she said and then walked over to the waiting car. "Safe flight home."

Heidi smiled.

"Hello, Mrs Tracy," said the woman. "It's been a long time."

"Good to see you, Wendy," Zoë replied. "It's good to be back."

But as Zoë climbed into the back of the Bugatti, the sickly feeling she'd had on the plane returned. Deep down inside, she really didn't want to be here.

Heidi watched as the car headed off. Then she climbed back into the jet. As she sat herself down in the pilot's seat to make pre-flight checks, she couldn't help but feel a little worried about Zoë. She had noticed that she'd been very quiet during pretty much the whole flight and hoped there was nothing wrong.

Once all the checks were completed, Heidi moved DT-1 into the take-off holding pattern. She had to wait for two planes to lane and one to take-off before she got her turn.

"Private Jet DT-1 from Norwich Tower, you are cleared for take-off," the tower controller said. "Have a good flight."

"Roger, Norwich Tower," Heidi replied. "And thank you."

DT-1 accelerated down the runway and lifted off into the sky once more. Heidi turned the jet round and headed South-West to begin the long journey back to Tracy Island. As she was making the turn, Heidi caught sight of the Bugatti Veyron taking the road towards the coast. "Good luck, Mrs Tracy," she said. "Something tells me you're going to need it."

5! (DUN)

4! (DUN)

3! (DUN)

2! (DUN)

1! (EXPLOSION)

*Thunderbirds theme plays*

"THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!"


	2. Act I

THE Bugatti Veyron carrying Zoë drove gracefully through the Norfolk countryside heading along a typical twisty road heading towards the village of Hackley located near the coast in the top left corner of the county. It was here where the British side of the Tracy family had lived for over two-hundred years. At least that was how it was until Zoë left to join Daniel and the others on Tracy Island a few years earlier. As Daniel had said, she didn't like coming back as it brought back bad memories of her late husband Robert Tracy, but every year on the anniversary of his death, a special garden party was held by the people of the village to commemorate the man who had saved the village from extinction. The owner of an oil company had wanted to demolish part of the village including the ancient church because he believed there was untouched natural resources under the ground. Robert had famously stopped this by buying out the company and leaving the former owner almost bankrupt. Because of this, he and the Tracy family were very well respected by the people of Hackley which was the reason why this party took place every year. Even though she didn't have to, Zoë felt it was her duty to be there.

"Are the preparations ready, Wendy?" Zoë asked the woman sitting in the back of the car with her.

"Yes, Mrs Tracy," Wendy Moore replied. "All the tents have been put up and delivery lorries have been bringing in the food and drink over the last couple of days. I've gone through the list of invitations that were sent out and everyone on it has confirmed that they will be attending."

"Excellent," Zoë said. "We always do get a good turnout at this event. I trust you'll be there?"

"Actually this year I will be," said Wendy. "My friend Julie is babysitting the kids tonight."

"Oh, yes, how are they doing?" Zoë asked.

"Hmm," Wendy said hesitantly. "Shannon and Molly are still a right pair of rascals, always chasing each other, and the cat around the house. They're in Year 6 now would you believe. And they still haven't learned how to tell the time despite the fact they wear those watches your son sent them for Christmas."

"Where we live now, everyone wears one," Zoë said. "Time is always a very important thing and you should tell them that."

"Oh, they wear them," Wendy said. "They just don't look at them."

How very odd, Zoë thought. "What about your son?"

Again, Wendy hesitated before answering. "I'd…rather not talk about him," she said. "He's become a right pain in my arse lately. He thinks that now that he's fifteen he can do and say whatever he likes. Seriously, he swore at the mayor the other day!"

Zoë was shocked. "That's horrible!" she exclaimed. "I do hope that you made him apologise?"

"If only he had," Wendy said. "Instead he just swore at me and stormed off." She looked at her shoes sadly. "Thank God he's off at the Air Cadets now. Between you and me, Mrs Tracy – I no longer have a son."

Zoë was silent. She didn't know what to say. She could remember Wendy's three children ever since they'd been born, and to her they were cheeky and a little bit troublesome at times, but they certainly weren't bad children. She really couldn't believe that the Jack she remembered had turned so bad. As she looked out of the car window at a field of sheep, she couldn't help but wonder if there was something she could do.

* * *

DT-1 was now flying at cruising altitude over the Atlantic Ocean. Now that the plane was in autopilot-mode, Heidi decided to make contact with Daniel. "DT-1 to Tracy Island, come in please."

Daniel was alone in the lounge at his desk when the call came through. "Yes, Heidi. Go ahead."

"Your mother has safely been transferred to the car as planned," Heidi said. "She's on her way to your old residence as we speak."

"Glad to hear," said Daniel. "How was she by the way?"

"Good question," said Heidi. "On the outside she seemed to be her usual self. But, I got the feeling that deep down there was something troubling her."

Daniel gave a small sigh as he sat back in his chair. "I thought as much," he said. "My mother doesn't really like going back there. It brings back bad memories for her."

"Oh…" said Heidi. "I see. Anyways, I'll be back on the island within an hour."

"Thanks, Heidi," said Daniel. "Over and out."

Heidi signed off and Daniel sat back in his chair and thought about Zoë. He knew the reason why she did not like going there and he did not blame her at all. He and Kerry had the same thoughts. The last time either of them had been there had not been for a happy occasion. It had been the day that their father was laid to rest in the churchyard. Every year, Zoë went back to attend the special party the village laid on. But Daniel and Kerry had never wanted to.

As he sat there thinking about memories that he didn't want to be thinking about, he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around him from behind. He could also feel a chin resting on his left shoulder with their face rubbing alongside his own. "Hello, Beth," he said.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked.

"Your watch gave you away," Daniel said.

Beth giggled and hugged her father tightly. "Damn you," she said to her watch.

"Plus the others are over there by the door," Daniel added.

Laura, Adrienne, Katie and Wizzy had been hiding outside the door to the lounge. They then appeared.

"You always seem to know when we're hiding, don't you, Dad," said Laura.

"A father's instinct," Daniel said.

"You know, Dad," Wizzy piped up. "Jo has the same make of watch as Beth does."

"True, Wizzy, true," said Daniel. "But would you like know how I can tell the difference? You do? Well…Beth has skinny arms whereas Jo doesn't."

Everyone laughed.

"Who were you talking to over the radio?" asked Katie.

"Just Heidi calling to say she'd dropped Mum off safely," Daniel said.

The girls' faces fell slightly.

"How was she?" asked Adrienne.

"You can probably guess, Adie," Daniel said. "The same as whenever she goes to attend my father's memorial party."

"I don't see why she has to do it," Beth said. "It's not like anyone forces her to do it."

"She forces herself to do it," Daniel said. "She feels she'd be dishonoring my father's legacy if she did not attend."

There was a few moments silence. Katie was the one who broke it. "Dad, I know how that place makes you, Kerry and Grandma feel…but I do hope to see your old house and village one day."

"I know we've seen photos but we would one day like to visit there," agreed Laura. "And she the grave that Grandpa is in."

Daniel said nothing for a moment. "One day I'll take you there," he said. "As you never met him, I feel that maybe you should see it. I will have to go back at some point to pay my respects." A thought then suddenly struck him. "Have you ever seen a photo of him even?"

The girls looked at each other. Then they all shook their heads. So he opened a draw and took out an old photo frame. Beth was the first to see if for she was standing behind Daniel. She gave a small gasp. Daniel held it still long enough for Beth to take it in before he then passed it over to the others who were the other side of the desk. Katie, Adrienne, Wizzy and Laura all looked at the photograph inside it. They too gasped. The old photo showed five people - a man, a woman, two girls and a boy. The woman was Zoë. the eldest girl in the photo was Kerry and the boy was Daniel. They knew instantly though that the younger girl was Daniel and Kerry's deceased sister Amber whilst the very handsome man in the photo was Robert Tracy himself.

Laura looked at Daniel and then back at the photo. "Oh, my God!" she exclaimed. "You look so much like him!"

The others looked at Daniel and then back at the photograph. They knew instantly that Laura was right.

"Dad, you have to go back and visit his grave," said Adrienne after a moment of silence.

"He is your father after all," agreed Beth. "Just because you've got a stone in our private area dedicated to him doesn't mean that he's actually there."

"Same with Mum, and Amber," agreed Wizzy.

Daniel sighed heavily. "You know the real reason why I haven't been there for so long," he said.

"Yes, because of International Rescue," said Katie. "But, Dad, with all due respect - that's not really an excuse, is it?"

Daniel looked at Katie. Then at Adrienne. Then at Wizzy. Then at Laura. And then finally at Beth. he then sighed sadly. "You're right," he said. "I have been away for too long. We'll go tomorrow after the party is over. I'd rather not see anyone at the village. They'll want to know of the reason for my absence, and I can't really reveal my secret to them."

The girls nodded. That they did understand was the right thing for Daniel to do. They smiled.

* * *

As the Bugatti Veyron reached the top of a hill, the old village of Hackley came into view. It hadn't changed in appearance for over a century. Its old-fashioned houses, some with thatched roofs were still there. So was the old market in the town square, the big park with a playground for children, the local pub 'The Fisherman' stood on the southern entrance whilst the big Elizabethan church occupied the very centre of the village. Farms were located all around the edge of the village, and on the top of one of the hills on the North-Eastern side was an old windmill. Its white paint was almost pristine as the sun shone down on it. This was the village's pride and joy – the main attraction for it was one of the very few working windmills left in the county. It was in fact Robert Tracy who funded and led the team that worked for two years to restore it to its former glory. Now people came from far and wide to visit the windmill and see how it worked. In addition to being a working museum, the windmill also made flour for the village bakery and Mickey Murphy – the owner of the bakery had a big business in selling his products as people knew it was made with flour ground at the windmill.

The windmill was only open to the public at weekends and during school holidays, but that didn't stop Molly and Shannon Moore from going up to the farm where it was located and playing in the fields around it. They knew the farmer Philip Merrick – or 'Windy Miller' as he nicknamed by everyone – very well indeed and he was always happy for them to come and play around his farm and the windmill.

"…eighteen…nineteen…twenty! Ready or not, here I come!" Molly called as she removed her hands from her eyes and began searching for her twin sister. She looked first checked around the tree to make sure Shannon wasn't trying trick her before searching around a large wooden hay cart. Shannon wasn't around either and the rest of the field was just grass meaning there was only one place she could be hiding – the windmill.

Molly searched all around the circular brick base of the windmill and around the frame where the fan-tail that turned it whenever the wind changed was located. There was still no sign of Shannon leading Molly to guess that she had be inside the windmill so she headed up the steps along the frame and through the door into the big white top of the building. She searched the bottom floor before climbing up through a trapdoor in the floor leading to the next level. It was in here where the windmill's primary gears that connected the sails to the flour grinder were located.

No sooner had Molly closed the trapdoor when a pair of arms grabbed her from behind.

"Got you!" Shannon laughed.

Molly squealed as she tried to pull herself out of her sister's grasp. "Oi, that's what I'm supposed to say!" she giggled.

The twin sisters spun around the room a couple of times before they both toppled over onto the floor next to the window laughing their heads off. Their laughter then stopped abruptly when they suddenly felt the windmill beginning to move. The wind had changed so the fan-tail was turning the top of the windmill so that it would be facing the correct way. Once it had stopped, the sails caught the wind and started turning again.

Shannon and Molly looked at each other and then giggled once more. They had never been inside the windmill when it had been turned before.

"That was fun!" said Molly.

Their attention was then drawn to a strange squeaking noise coming from the gears. They weren't sure where it was coming from but it wasn't a noise they'd ever heard the windmill make before.

"That doesn't sound right," Shannon remarked.

"I heard Windy saying to his wife earlier that there's some kind of problem with the windmill," Molly said.

Then they heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs outside. A quick glance out the window revealed who it was. It wasn't Windy Miller, but Ben Hodges – the village's resident Scrooge if ever there were one. Hodges was never happy unless he ruined someone's day, especially if it was children. He hated them with a passion and he'd taken a particular dislike to the Moore twins which was why they very hastily concealed themselves behind two of the wooden support beams as the trapdoor in the floor began to open.

Hodges didn't come right inside the room however. Instead he stopped halfway through the trapdoor and stared up at the gears which were still making the strange noise. "Climb up and oil the gears!" he grumbled. "How would I know where to put the damn oil? Really, the more I think about it, Philip Merrick is nothing but a slave-driver! I have more important things to do. I'll wait for the engineer to arrive." And with that he went back down the steps and closed the trapdoor before heading back out of the windmill.

Molly and Shannon came out from their hiding places and breathed a sigh of relief. They had been scared that Hodges was going to discover them.

"I think we should go home," Shannon said. "I feel so uneasy with that creep around."

Molly agreed and together they made a hasty exit from the windmill before running off down the hill towards the village. Hodges hadn't seen them inside the mill but he did spot them running down the hill, which made his face turn even uglier than it already was.

The windmill's sails continued to turn and inside the gears continued to squeak. But there was now a little plume of smoke coming from where within the gears and there was nobody there to see it.

* * *

The Bugatti Veyron had passed through Hackley and was now heading up the long driveway towards the old Tracy Mansion located on the north-western side of the village. Zoë could see that the preparations were almost completed as the car pulled up outside the steps leading to the front doors. Another smartly-dressed man with white hair was waiting for them. This was Brackett, the Tracy family's loyal butler.

"Good afternoon, m'lady," Brackett said as Zoë stepped out of the car. "It's good to have you back."

"Hello, Brackett," Zoë replied. "Good to see you as well. You're looking a lot better than when I last saw you. How's the arm?"

"Much better thank you, ma'am," said Brackett as he led Zoë into the house. During the last garden party, Brackett's arm had been in a sling after he'd accidentally fallen down the grand staircase in the main reception hall. "I trust you had a pleasant flight?" Brackett went on as they walked up the stairs and along a long corridor to Zoë's old bedroom.

"Oh, I don't remember much about it," Zoë laughed. "I was asleep."

Brackett chuckled as they reached the bedroom. "Here we are," he said. "All cleaned up and ready for you, m'lady."

Zoë stepped into the room. It was exactly as it had always been. A large king-size bed with a frame and curtains over it. The lime green walls were pristine like they'd just been redone. The mauve carpet was smooth and flat and all the woodwork including the bedposts, the two wardrobes and the dressing table were all varnished.

"My goodness, Brackett," Zoë exclaimed. "It looks lovely. Thank you."

Brackett smiled and nodded. He then stepped aside to allow the two men who'd been in the car to bring Zoë's suitcase and other bags into the bedroom. They both nodded to Zoë and then headed back out.

"Will that be all, m'lady?" Brackett asked.

"Yes, thank you, Brackett," Zoë answered. "I need to make a private call and then I'm going to have an hour's nap. Wake me at five o'clock please."

"Certainly, m'lady," said Brackett. "I'll bring you some tea and biscuits." He gave a bow and then closed the door.

Zoë took off her jacket and placed it neatly on the bed before sitting down at the dressing table. She opened her handbag and took out a small silver box. It was one of her jewellery boxes but it was also a hologram-radio which she would use to talk to Daniel and Kerry.

It was a heart-warming sight to see both her children appear in hologram form from the projector in the box. "Hey, darlings," she said. "Thought I'd call and let you know that I'm here safe and sound. No problems at all."

"Good to hear, Mum," said Daniel. "How you feeling?"

"Oh, I think you probably know, Daniel," Zoë said with a wink.

"Rather you than me, Mum," Kerry said. "I don't think I could ever go back there."

"I'm going to come later if I can once the party's over," said Daniel. "It'll just be brief as the girls want to see Grandpa's grave.

"You really must," said Zoë. "I know Wendy's girls would be happy to see you."

"Have you seen them?" Daniel asked.

"Not yet, but I hope to tomorrow," said Zoë. "Wendy said that she's going to bring them round to see me. Maybe you could talk to them?"

"I'd like that," said Daniel. "Yes, sure. It's been ages since I've seen them."

"Let's just hope you don't get called out," Kerry said. Just then Kerry felt her watch beep. "Oh, sorry, Mum, I've got to go," she said. "Kaylee's calling me. It must be urgent. Good luck with tonight."

"Thanks, love," said Zoë. "I guess I'd better leave you," she said. "It sounds like you might have a mission coming up."

"I kind of hope we do actually," Daniel said. "We haven't had one for a few days now. The girls are getting restless. Talk to you later. Love you."

"Bye, son," said Zoë. "Love you too."

Once Daniel had signed off, Zoë closed the box. She took off her shoes and then climbed onto the bed. She rested her head back on the pillow and was soon sound asleep.

* * *

But as the day went on, nobody in the village seemed to noticed the very thin trail of smoke that was emerging from the windmill. The sails continued to turn and the gears continued to groan. Nobody could have known of the danger that was threatening their most prized landmark.


	3. Act II

Kerry entered the control room of Thunderbird 5 where Katrina and Kaylee were on duty. "What have you got?" she asked.

"Got a 'mayday' call from an oil rig in the North Sea, thirty miles west of Bergen," Kaylee reported. "There's been an explosion and a huge fire is burning."

"How many people on-board?" asked Kerry.

"Six," said Kaylee. "Some of the crew managed to escape in a helicopter but there's no way for them to go back and rescue the others."

"That's not all," Katrina added. "There's a fierce storm around that area as well. Strong winds, high seas, heavy rain, the lot."

"Right, we need to get on this immediately," said Kerry. She hurried over to her desk and pressed the button that sounded the alarm on Tracy Island.

Daniel had been waiting in the lounge when the girls came rushing back in with Leanna, Cassidy, Sian, Joanne, Rosie and Jodie this time. "Go ahead, Thunderbird 5," he said.

"We have a situation, guys," said Kerry bringing up a hologram on the central table in the lounge. "We have an oil rig on fire just off Norway. Reports of an explosion. Six men are trapped on-board and there's a storm raging around it. This is a big one."

"We're on our way," said Daniel. "We might need all hands for this one. Sian and Cassidy, you can come with us in Thunderbird 2. Beth and Adie, you go with Laura in Thunderbird 1. Any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads so they sprang into action. Laura hurried over to the revolving wall panel that led to the revolving elevator that would take her down to Thunderbird 1. After having turned through the wall and standing on the elevator, robotic arms attached her uniform to her as it went down. At the same time, Katie, Rosie, Leanna, Wizzy, Sian and Cassidy hurried out of the lounge to make their way down to Thunderbird 2 whilst Daniel hurried over to the large rocket painting on the wall. He leant back against it and it began to tilt backwards sending him sliding down into a harness which took him down a long green tunnel. Robotic arms worked to attach his blue uniform with green utility sash as he went down. Once all that was complete, the rail his harness was on moved from the bottom side of the tunnel to the top side. Laura was now in her uniform and being carried out on a retractable walkway to Thunderbird 1. She sat down in the seat which was then moved inside before the hatchway sealed. She was shortly joined by Beth and Adrienne who'd got their suits through a couple of the other express elevators leading to the silos. They took their positions in the seats located underneath Laura's and strapped themselves in. The trolley that Thunderbird 1 stood on began to move taking Thunderbird 1 up the diagonal tunnel towards its launching bay under the swimming pool. Daniel then reached Thunderbird 2's silo and swung down through the hatch in the top before closing the hatch behind him. He hurried to his seat and sat down before selecting Pod 3 on the computer. The pod conveyor activated moving Pods 1 and 2 underneath. Once Pod 3 was in position, the main body of Thunderbird 2 was lowered down onto it. Whilst all this had been going on, Katie, Wizzy, Leanna, Cassidy, Sian and Rosie had travelled down express elevators from the mansion to the silo and like Daniel had been changed into their uniforms on the way. They were now able to join Daniel in the cockpit and were ready to go. The rocks concealing the entrance to the hanger were lowered to allow Thunderbird 2 to taxi out onto the runway. As it came out, the palm trees were tilted back to allow it to pass. Up by the house, the swimming pool was opening up ready for Thunderbird 1 which was just coming into position on the launch pad. Thunderbird 2 was now on the launching ramp which lifted up into position. The wings folded into position and the blast shield rose into place behind the rocket engines.

5…4…3…2…1!

The rocket engines of Thunderbird 1 fired and it lifted up off the launch ramp, though the gap where the swimming pool had been before climbing high into the night sky above Tracy Island. Thunderbird 2's own engines fired and it lifted up off the ramp to join its sister-ship.

"Thunderbirds are go!" said Daniel as the two ships headed off towards the danger zone. Their route would take them North-West over the Indian Ocean, Africa, Mediterranean and Europe before reaching the North Sea.

* * *

At the old Tracy Mansion, the guests were starting to arrive in readiness for the garden party. Among them were several people from the village plus others from neighbouring ones and further afield. As the host, Zoë was there to greet everyone and she even began to feel better now that she was seeing a lot of old friends that she hadn't seen for a long time.

The guest of honour at the party was Mayor Kenneth Grange of Hackley. He was a very old friend of Zoë as was his wife Louisa.

"Zoë, my darling!" said Louisa kissing Zoë on the cheeks. "How wonderful to see you again!"

"And you, Louisa," agreed Zoë returning the kisses before turning to greet Mayor Grange. "Kenneth, it's been too long. How do you keep that beard of yours so brown?"

"Ah, now that would be telling, my dear Zoë," laughed the Mayor. "It'll have to be cut back sometime soon though; I think there might be some mice living in it somewhere."

Zoë laughed louder than she had done for a very long time. "Oh, Kenneth, you do talk some piffle!" she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Tell me about it," remarked Louisa. "I have to put up with him every single night! That beard's constantly in my face and don't get me started on his snoring!"

Mayor Grange went red in the face as they headed off to get some drinks.

"How are Daniel and Kerry these days?" Louisa asked. "I presume they're not here?"

"I'm afraid not," Zoë replied. "They're both much too busy with their work. They sent their regards to everyone."

"I can't believe they'd miss such an important event based around their own father," said Louisa. "Still, I guess they're adults now and can choose what they want to do. What exactly do they do?"

"I'm afraid I can't say," Zoë said. "It's top secret. They'd have to kill me if I said anything."

Louisa was puzzled. "What are they government agents or something?"

Zoë shook her head. "No, not quite," she said. "It's a lot more dangerous than that."

"More dangerous than being a government agent?" asked Mayor Grange. "Is that even possible?"

"Yes it is," said Zoë. "Oh, excuse me." She'd spotted Wendy waving to her and so headed over to her leaving Mayor Grange to begin talking to one of the other guests and leaving Louisa talking to nobody. She wasn't really the kind of person who liked to mingle with others.

* * *

Thunderbirds 1 and 2 were now flying over the North Sea heading north towards the location of the burning oil rig. They soon found themselves in the storm that Kerry had warned them about. It was a good thing that none of them were afraid due to the strong construction of the two machines.

"We can't be far away from the danger zone, Thunderbird 1," Daniel said. "Visibility isn't great though so hopefully we'll see the rig before we get to it."

"Way ahead of you, Thunderbird 2," Laura replied.

"Well of course you are, Laura, you're flying in front of us," Daniel chuckled causing the girls to all roll their eyes.

"They don't get any better, do they?" Leanna whispered to Wizzy.

"Damn right," Wizzy agreed.

"I can hear you, you know?" Daniel said quickly making the two girls gulp.

"You were saying, Laura?" Katie asked.

"I can see an orange glow in the distance," Laura said. "And according to my radar scope that's exactly where the rig is."

Sian, who was sitting behind Katie with Cassidy leant forwards. "Wait, is that it?" she asked pointing.

The others could just make out a faint orange glow on the horizon which was ahead of where Thunderbird 1 was.

"Yes, Sian, I believe it is," said Daniel.

"Christ, that fire must be huge!" remarked Wizzy.

"It sure is," said Laura. "We're coming up to it now."

Thunderbird 1 slowed down and came to a hover about a mile from the oil rig. Laura, Adrienne and Beth stared in amazement. The giant rig was almost completely engulfed in smoke and flames with explosions erupting from various locations. Laura could feel her craft being battered by the winds. This wasn't going to be an easy rescue by any means.

"Good lord!" exclaimed Adrienne. "Can anyone be alive in all that?"

"There had better be!" remarked Laura. "We haven't flown halfway round the world just to watch some fireworks." She opened the radio link between them and the satellite. "Thunderbird 5, we've arrived at the danger zone. Thunderbird 2 will be here in a couple of minutes. How many people did you say were aboard, Kerry?"

"Six in total," Kerry replied. "Any sign of them?"

"We're just about to go in for a closer look," said Laura as she began to move Thunderbird 1 slowly towards the burning rig. However, she didn't want to go in too close because the explosions and falling debris so she turned on the scanner to try and locate the men that way.

"Anything?" asked Beth.

"No, nothing," sighed Laura. "They could be…wait, I see them!" She brought Thunderbird 1 in as close as she dared and shone a powerful spotlight down onto one of the rig's supports. "Thunderbird 2, this is Thunderbird 1. We have a visual on the six workers. They're trapped on an inspection platform on the South column."

"F-A-B, we'll take it from here," Daniel acknowledged.

On the rig, the six men were struggling desperately to stay clear of the danger but it was tough going.

"COME ON! COME ON!" the lone dark-skinned workman shouted out to the others just as one of the large towers was ripped apart by an explosion.

Daniel could see that the tower was beginning to topple towards the very spot where Thunderbird 1 was hovering. "Laura, get out of there – that tower's coming down!" he ordered.

"Got it!" Laura replied. She threw Thunderbird 1 into reverse and managed to get clear with seconds to spare.

"Jesus!" gasped Beth. "We almost ended up in the drink there!"

"Thunderbird 1, any damage?" asked Daniel.

"Negative, Dad," replied Laura. "We're good."

Katie was now trying to bring Thunderbird 2 into the spot where the trapped men were but she wasn't satisfied with how it was going. "Dad, this approach angle is no good, I'm going to have to swing her around."

"Be careful of the wind shear, Thunderbird 2," warned Laura.

"Oh, I was watching for wind shear when you were wearing diapers!" Daniel joked.

From within Thunderbird 1, Laura, Beth and Adrienne watched anxiously as Thunderbird 2 moved in closer to the rig.

"Come on, guys," Adrienne whispered. "Easy does it now."

Suddenly there was another huge explosion that almost engulfed Thunderbird 2.

"Whoa, hold on!" Daniel shouted as he and Katie quickly reversed the giant green leviathan to safety.

"Who needs the diapers now, Dad?" teased Laura. Beth and Adrienne laughed but nobody in Thunderbird 2 did.

"Great, now what?" asked Leanna.

"Rescue chairs?" Wizzy asked Daniel.

"That's the best option," Daniel agreed. "But someone will have to go down and help the guys get into them."

"We're on it," said Wizzy and Leanna together. They both got up from their seats and headed quickly out of the cockpit and down into the nose of Thunderbird 2 where the rescue chairs were located. There were the ones down in the bottom of the pod as well but Katie didn't want to risk bringing them in too close again.

Jodie then appeared on the holo-screen. "Mr Tracy, with the winds as strong as they are, might it not be a good idea if someone was to actually get aboard the rig as well as be on the chairs?"

"Couldn't Adie and I do that?" asked Beth. "Otherwise we won't get to do anything on this mission."

"Well, we're not exactly doing anything," Cassidy piped up.

"Good idea, Beth," said Daniel. "You and Adie use jetpacks to get across to the rig. Wizzy and Leanna will go down on the chairs and join you. Be careful!"

"F-A-B!" said Adrienne and Beth together. They unfastened themselves and headed for the large hatch behind the cockpit which Laura opened for them. After putting on their helmets and the jetpacks they headed out to the rig. The wind was a lot stronger than they originally thought but they managed to get onto the rig safely where they found the six men who were very relieved to see them.

"They're aboard, Dad," said Laura.

"Good," said Daniel. "Ready, girls?"

"Ready," answered Leanna and Wizzy who also had their helmets on.

"Hold tight," said Daniel. "Going down."

At the touch of a button, the hatch underneath Thunderbird 2's nose opened and the rescue chairs began to be lowered. Leanna and Wizzy were sitting in the two outer forward facing seats. This left eight empty seats where the workers could fit in.

"Are you guys okay?" Beth asked.

"We are now that you're here!" said one of the workmen.

"How soon can you get us off of here?" asked another. "The rig isn't going to last much longer!"

"You'll be off as soon as our colleagues from Thunderbird 2 arrive with the rescue chairs," said Adrienne. She looked up as she spoke. Beth and the workmen looked up as well to see the chairs being lowered down towards them.

"Hi, guys!" called Leanna as they landed on the inspection platform. "Anyone need a lift?"

"Is anyone hurt?" asked Wizzy as she and Leanna unfastened themselves from the chairs.

"I think this guy is," said Beth who was with the workman leaning up against the railings.

"One of the oil barrels hit got my leg," the workman said. He winched in pain. "I think it's broken."

"We'll get our medical expert to take a look at that once you're aboard," said Wizzy. "Are the rest of you okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," said the dark-skinned workman.

"Good, then let's get you out here," said Wizzy. "Get into the seats quickly please."

"Adie, give me a hand here," said Beth.

Adrienne bent down and helped Beth get the injured workman to his feet and helped him to one of the chairs where Leanna helped fasten him in. she then strapped herself into the chair next to him and two of the others whilst Wizzy strapped herself in on the other side with the other three.

"How's it going down there?" Daniel asked over the radio.

"All aboard, Dad," said Wizzy. "Get us out of here."

"F-A-B, hold tight," said Daniel. He put the winch into reverse and began to lift the chairs back up towards Thunderbird 2.

But the wind was getting stronger and the chairs started to get pushed around.

"LOOK OUT!" another of the workers shouted as they found themselves heading straight for part of the damaged helipad which was on the verge of breaking off. Luckily they swung back just in time.

"Thunderbird 2, pull back – they almost hit the rig!" said Laura.

"Jesus wept!" Daniel exclaimed. "Katie, move her back."

"Reverse thrust engaged!" said Katie.

Adrienne and Beth were just about to start up their jetpacks again when another explosion rocked the oil rig and knocked them over.

Looking up, Laura gasped when she saw that the helipad was breaking away. "ADIE, BETH, LOOK OUT!" she yelled.

Beth and Adrienne looked up and saw it beginning to fall. They quickly picked themselves up and jumped off starting their jetpacks at the same time. Leanna, Wizzy and the workmen cried out in alarm as the helipad fell right past them and crashed into the sea below.

"Sorry guys, hold on tight, here we go!" said Daniel.

Adrienne and Beth were soon safely back inside Thunderbird 1.

"You two okay?" asked Laura.

"Yeah, just about!" gasped Adrienne. "That was way too close!"

"Thanks for the heads up," added Beth. "What about the others?"

"Almost there," said Laura looking up at Thunderbird 2.

The rescue chairs were almost back inside Thunderbird 2.

"Hold on, guys, we're almost there!" Leanna called to the workmen above the noise of the wind.

"How you doing, girls?" Daniel asked.

"Better thanks, Dad," replied Wizzy.

It was at this point that Cassidy had a sudden thought. Now that the workmen were safe, what was going to be done about the oil rig. Surely, she thought, that they weren't just going to let it burn down. "Daniel? How exactly will the fire be put out?" she asked.

"Use that stuff you have for forest fires?" suggested Sian.

"The retardant wouldn't work, Sian," Katie said. "It's not strong enough to kill a blaze as deadly as that one."

Daniel looked at the burning rig. "Well one thing's for sure, we can't leave it like that," he said. "Jodie, have you got any ideas as to how we can extinguish the it?"

Jodie was quickly looking over the schematics of the oil rig. "There is one thing we can try," she said. "Thunderbird 1, fire a nitro-glycerine missile into the heart of the blaze. That should be powerful enough to put it out."

"F-A-B, Jodie," said Laura. She moved Thunderbird 1 into position. More explosions ripped through the rig. It was almost on the verge of collapsing so she had to act quickly if it was to be saved. Using her targeting computer, Laura selected the spot where she wanted to shoot at and opened a hatch underneath the nose-cone revealing the missile on its launching. "Lining up target," said Laura. "Fire!"

The missile shot out from Thunderbird 1 and rocketed straight into the heart of the inferno. There was a colossal explosion. Everyone had to throw their hands over their eyes to shield them from the bright white light that came with it. Then when the light faded they looked back to see that the flames had been completely wiped out. The rig was badly damaged, it was safe.

"It worked!" said Laura happily.

"Outstanding shot, Thunderbird 1," said Daniel. "Well done everyone. Now let's get these guys to the nearest hospital and call it a day."

"Aren't we going to visit your old home?" asked Wizzy.

"Not with the ships we won't be," Daniel said. "We'd be too noticeable. We'll come back in regular clothes. That way anyone who sees us won't know who we are."

The others knew he had a point. To see the Thunderbird machines just randomly turn up without there being anything wrong would certainly get people's attention. That would make things awkward - especially for Daniel and none of them wanted that.

Thunderbirds 1 and 2 turned away from the rig to head east towards Bergen where they could deliver the rescued workers to the hospital for treatment. It had been a tough and tense rescue mission, but International Rescue had done it again.

* * *

The garden party was going well. The guests were happy chatting to each other and sampling the excellent food and drink that had been provided. Now it was time for the speeches. Mayor Grange always did one and then Zoë would do one directly afterwards.

Wendy climbed up onto the specially-built podium opposite the front of the mansion and called everybody together. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all so much for attending this year's event to celebrate our local village hero – Robert Tracy. I would now like to hand over to our guest of honour – Mayor Kenneth Grange!"

Everyone applauded as the Mayor stepped up onto the podium and cleared his throat. "Good evening, how are we all this evening?"

The guests responded cheerfully.

"Fantastic!" Mayor Grange said delightedly. "Now for those of you who are attending this event for the first time, let me tell you story of how I first met Robert Tracy. Robert was the best thing that ever happened to Hackley. When crisis came in the form of a wicked oil baron who wanted to rip up our town in order to dig in search of fossil fuels, Robert came to the rescue! And do you know how he did it? He only went and bought out the bugger's own company!" He laughed loudly and so did most of the guests.

Whilst the Mayor continued his speech, the majority of the people in Hackley were either asleep or watching the evening television.

Shannon and Molly had been sent to bed by Wendy's friend Julie who was looking after them whilst Wendy was at the party. Shannon was feeling hot so the window was left open. molly was sleeping soundly but Shannon lay awake. The air was so still that she could just make out the voice of Mayor Grange talking in the distance. But then she began to hear another sound. It was a crackling sound, like flames from a bonfire. She could also smell what appeared to be one as well. She climbed out of bed and went over to the window to try and see where it was coming from. But as she reached the window, she saw something that made her heart jump with horror. "Molly, Molly, Molly, wake up!"

Molly woke with a start. "What? What is it?" she asked.

"We have to find Windy Miller!" Shannon cried. "Come on!"

Molly looked out of the window and then she gasped loudly. Shannon had already raced out of the bedroom. "Wait for me!" Molly yelled as she raced after her.

Mayor Grange was still giving his speech. Wendy and Zoë were standing beside the podium waiting for him to finish before Zoë could have her turn. Both were surprised when Wendy's phone started ringing. Looking at the screen, she saw that is was Julie which meant it had to be urgent.

"Excuse me," Wendy whispered and headed behind the podium out of sight to answer. "Julie, is there something wrong?"

"Wendy, the girls have just gone running out of the house!" Julie said hotly. "They're saying the windmill is on fire."

"Oh, for goodness sake!" sighed Wendy. "Go and find them, please!" She angrily hung up and went back round to stand next to Zoë. She opened her mouth to speak when she noticed that Zoë's skin had gone white. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was half open with shock. "Mrs Tracy?" Wendy said. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Zoë didn't reply. Wendy turned to look and then she froze. In the distance was a faint orange glow and it was coming from the exact spot where the windmill was located.

"One of the many things that Robert did for our village was provide the cash that we needed to restore our beloved windmill," Mayor Grange continued, "Which as you can see today is…" He broke off abruptly and froze. The guests looked at him in bewilderment. "…burning!" he exclaimed. "Oh, God, someone get the fire brigade! The windmill is on fire!"

The guests all looked round and gasped. They could now see the orange glow of flames coming from the windmill. Without hesitating they all started to run towards their vehicles. One by one they began racing down the driveway to join the main road heading in the direction of the farm and the hill where the windmill was located.

Zoë grabbed her phone and began to dial Daniel's number. But it was engaged. Then Zoë remembered that they might be on call. So she dialled Kerry's number instead. She was shaking like a leaf due to the fear that was running through her veins. "Come on, Kerry," she said anxiously. "Answer me, darling!"

Katrina was very surprised when the sign that Zoë was calling Thunderbird 5 appeared on the screen in front of her. "Er, Kerry?"

"Not now, Katrina," Kerry replied. She was busy observing Thunderbirds 1 and 2.

"Kerry, your mother's calling," Katrina said. "On the emergency line."

Kerry frowned. "Really?" she said. "Put her through."

Katrina pressed a button sending the video link from the phone to Kerry's monitor.

"Oh, Kerry, thank God!" Zoë gasped when she saw her daughter.

Kerry was alarmed. "Mum?" she exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

* * *

Thunderbirds 1 and 2 had arrived at the main hospital in Bergen where they could drop off the oil rig workmen. As there wasn't anywhere for them to land, they had to hover whilst Thunderbird 2 lowered the men down to the ground in the chairs again. Rosie had already patched them up with plasters and bandages but it was still best for them to be given a thorough medical check-up by the doctors and nurses.

But as Leanna and Wizzy helped with getting them into safe hands, none of them noticed the dark-skinned workman walk quickly away from them. He looked to make sure that they were busy before turning to face Thunderbird 1 which was hovering nearby. He took out a small pistol that had been hidden inside his suit and fired a small device which then attached itself to the silver rocket's hull. He then began to walk away before anyone had the chance to stop him.

"Mission complete," said Daniel once Wizzy and Leanna were back aboard.

"F-A-B," said Laura. Her attention was then drawn to a beeping noise on her computer screen. It showed an image of the hull of Thunderbird 1 with a red dot flashing on it. Frowning, she pressed a button which demagnetised the hull causing the device to detach and fall away.

The man who'd fired the device was now busy talking into a concealed radio in his right ear. "Boss, it's done," he was saying. "The tracking device is now attached to Thunderbird…ARGH!"

The device had landed right on top of his head causing him to pass out onto the floor.

"Mullion, say again?" the voice of The Hood answered over the earpiece. "I didn't hear what you said. Mullion? Mullion?!"

Thunderbirds 1 and 2 were now flying out over the North Sea again on their way to Tracy Island. The team were feeling pleased with themselves.

"What time roughly will you be home for dinner?" Joanne was asking.

"Just under an hour I reckon," said Daniel. "We're taking a leisurely run back this time."

"I guess you've earned that," chuckled Joanne. "See you later."

Daniel looked back at the girls. "Well, ladies. It's home time. Let's hope we have a peaceful rest of the day, eh?"

The girls agreed. But then the radio bleeped. It was Jodie. "Mr Tracy, Kerry's been trying to call you," she said. "She sounds rather distressed."

"Really?" Daniel said, surprised. "Put her through."

When Kerry appeared on the holo-projector they all saw immediately what Jodie had meant. "Daniel, please tell me you've finished with those rig workers?" she said urgently.

"Dropped them off about ten minutes ago," Daniel replied, frowning. "Kerry, are you okay? Is there something wrong?"

"I'll say there is!" said Kerry. She looked and sounded as though she was about to burst into tears. "I've had a call from Mum. You have to go to Hackley now! Dad's windmill has caught fire!"

The girls all looked at Daniel as the colour drain from his face. "How? When?" he asked urgently.

"I don't know!" Kerry cried. "Please, you have to do something!"

"Sorry, Katie, but I need to do this," said Daniel as he took over the controls of Thunderbird 2. He put the engines onto full power and rocketed away much to the surprise of those in Thunderbird 1.

"Blimey!" exclaimed Beth. "Where are they off to in such a hurry?"

Laura put Thunderbird 1 onto full-power and set off in pursuit. "Dad, what's going on?" she asked.

To her surprise, it was Katie who answered her. "We're heading to England, Laura," she said. "The windmill that grandad led the restoration of has caught fire."

Laura, Adrienne and Beth were just as shocked as the others. Nobody said a word as the two Thunderbird machines raced as fast as they could over the North Sea towards England.


	4. Act III

Philip Merrick sprinted along the gravel road faster than he had ever been in his life driven by desperation and fear. He had already discovered that the windmill was on fire when the Moore twins had arrived. He had already alerted the fire brigade but it would be a good fifteen minutes before the nearest appliances could get there. That was time that the windmill didn't possibly have.

Merrick came to a stop on the edge of the field and stared in disbelief at the shocking sight in front him. He was joined moments later by his wife Charlotte, their children Alice and Geoff, the Moore twins, Zoë, Wendy, Hodges, Mayor Grange and Louisa, the rest of the guests and pretty much everyone in the whole of Hackley had come hurrying up the hill to gaze at the horrifying spectacle of their beloved windmill which had flames ripping through its interior and flicking out the windows. The sails were also on fire and were somehow being pushed around despite there being no wind at all.

"Our windmill's burning to the ground!" Merrick shouted. "We can't wait for the fire brigade. We need to put water on those flames now! Break out the pumps! Hurry!"

Everyone did their best to help. There were some old fashioned water pumps in Merrick's barn so one group of men raced to get them outside whilst others worked quickly to connect their hoses and put them in the nearest water supply – which turned out to be the pond in Merrick's garden and the nearby stream on the other side of the hill. The hoses weren't long enough to reach the pond in the park.

The pumps were rusty and the handles were stiff to move. It took six people in total just move them so that they could move the water into the hoses.

Zoë, Wendy, Shannon, Molly, Mrs Merrick and her kids were made to stand as far back from the windmill as possible with the other women and children whilst the men all battled bravely to try and save the windmill.

A quick run round to the back of the windmill confirmed by Merrick and another group of men that the fire was inside the main body. Only the very top part where the sails were connected was where it was burning on the exterior.

"We need to get inside!" Merrick yelled. "If we can get that bit under control then we have a chance! Move it!"

The men raced up the steps along the fan-tail frame to the door leading into the main body. But as the lead man opened the door, the sudden addition of oxygen created a devastating jet of flame to shoot out of the windmill like a flamethrower. The men screamed as the heat and force threw them off the steps. The girls screamed in fright as the flames now began to rapid spread along the outside of the windmill. As it was a wooden structure, it burned far too easily and soon the whole structure with the exception of the fan-tail, its frame and the brick bottom section it stood on was ablaze. Merrick's men had unintentionally made the situation twice as bad as it had been already.

Zoë couldn't take her eyes off the scene like she was in a trace. It was only a sharp nudge from Wendy that snapped her out of it. She looked around to see three red fire-engines racing up the farm track towards them with their sirens blaring loudly and blue lights flashing.

Merrick ran to meet the chief Captain Marcus Flack. "Thank goodness you're here!" he shouted. "The fire's got worse since when I called you!"

"Move your men back, please, Mr Merrick," said Captain Flack. "We'll take it from here."

Merrick turned back and shouted, "Everybody, cut your pumps and get back! The fire brigade will take it from here!"

"Hurry, please!" Shannon called to Fire-Fighter Cuthbert. "You have to save it!"

"We'll have a jolly good try, young lady!" Cuthbert promised as he and two other firefighters ran towards the windmill with their hoses.

Zoë was still scared. The fire was now so big that it didn't look as though it was going to stay standing for much longer. She began looking up at the sky for any sign of the Thunderbirds. "Come on, Daniel, where are you?" she asked.

Despite Merrick's order for them to pull-back several of his men joined in with the old pumps to assist the firefighters. There were now up to two hoses in total spraying water onto the windmill. For a minute or two it looked almost as though they might have a chance of saving it, but that all changed when Merrick noticed the sails stop turning. There was a loud cracking noise and the sails began to shift. The one pointing directly upwards was now beginning to tilt forwards.

"EVERYONE GET BACK!" Merrick yelled. "THE SAILS ARE COMING OFF!"

The firefighters and other villagers who were directly in front of the windmill quickly moved back to a safe distance just as with a loud sickening CRACK of splintering wood, the sail broke away and crashed down onto the ground setting some of the grass alight. The impact also sent some hot ashes at the spectators causing them to jump back and several women screamed.

"It's too late, Mr Merrick!" Captain Flack called. "The fire's been raging for too long. EVERYONE FALL BACK! IT'S GONNA COLLAPSE!"

"No! NO!" screamed Molly and Shannon running forwards to the alarm of Zoë and Wendy. "YOU HAVE TO SAVE IT!"

Cuthbert stopped them. "I'm sorry, my lovelies, but it's too dangerous. He's right – nothing can save it now."

Zoë was about to burst into tears along with the twins.

Suddenly, there came a loud blast from a horn somewhere in the sky. Everyone jumped in surprise. They then looked up in astonishment to see the sleek, silver shape of Thunderbird 1 arriving above them. Zoë's eyes lit up delightedly.

"Hello, down there," Laura's voice called down via the speaker. "This is International Rescue. Please move back to over one-hundred meters. Thunderbird 2 is going to put out the blaze for you!"

Zoë and everyone else then looked round to see the giant green leviathan that was Thunderbird 2 appear through the smoke and come into a hover directly above the windmill. The hatches where the fire-retardant was kept opened and a large plume of pink dropped down onto the windmill. The villagers and firefighters watched in amazement as the fire went out almost instantly.

"I don't believe it!" exclaimed Merrick. "How did they know? They've saved it!"

But even International Rescue couldn't have prevented what happened next. There came another series of cracking and groaning noises. And then - CRASH! The whole main body of the windmill literally collapsed in on itself leaving nothing but the brick base and fan-tail frame.

From his seat in the cockpit of Thunderbird 2, Daniel was getting rather hot. He was furious.

"We didn't make it in time," Katie said sadly. "Sorry, Dad."

Daniel said nothing. Then to the girls' surprise, he moved Thunderbird 2 and landed in the next field.

"Why are we landing?" asked Cassidy.

"Whoever caused this has a lot of explaining to do!" said Daniel angrily as he got up from his seat. "Especially to me!"

"Dad, you can't go out there!" Wizzy exclaimed. "They'll realise…"

Too late, Daniel had stormed out of the cockpit.

"Oh, dear…" said Rosie. "This isn't going to end well, is it?"

Katie shook her head. "Nope," she agreed.

The villagers were devastated by what had happened to the windmill. A lot of them – men, women and children were in tears, especially Zoë and the Moore twins.

"But, why? My God!" sobbed Merrick.

"You said the sails weren't working properly," said Mickey Murphy.

"They weren't running smoothly," said Merrick. "But I sent Hodges up there to oil the gears this afternoon."

Hodges heard Merrick and stopped dead. He knew now that this was his fault. But being the sort of person he was, would pin the blame on someone else to save his own skin. And it didn't take him long to decide who he was going to blame it on.

"This is impossible," cried Mayor Grange. "How could this have happened?"

"I know who did this!" Hodges said pointing an accusing finger at Shannon and Molly. "It was them!"

All eyes turned towards the two girls who had gone white with fright.

"Hey, we didn't do this!" Shannon cried. "Why are you blaming us?"

"Because I saw you two running back down the hill towards the village after I'd finished in there!" Hodges said angrily.

Molly's face went as red as the fleece she was wearing. "YOU MEAN AFTER YOU WENT INSIDE, SAID THAT OILING THE GEARS WAS A WASTE OF YOUR TIME AND THEN LEFT AGAIN!" she shouted.

"Molly, calm down!" Wendy snapped.

"NO!" Molly snapped back. "WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THE BLAME FOR SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T DONE!"

"Too right!" agreed Shannon fixing Hodges with a hard stare. "YOU'RE A FILTHY LIAR!

"SHUT UP!" roared Hodges. "I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN…AAARRGGHH!"

Hodges was pulled back suddenly by a powerful grappling hook. He fell flat on his face and found himself staring at a pair of blue and green boots. He looked up and found himself looking into the furious eyes of Daniel.

Zoë froze. "Oh, my God…" she said quietly.

Daniel was shaking with fury. He rolled Hodges over with his right foot before putting the sole of his boot on top of his face.

"HEY, GET OFF ME!" Hodges shouted.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU OIL THE GEARS?!" Daniel roared.

"I DID!" Hodges cried. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?! GET OFF ME!"

"International Rescue, what the hell are you doing?!" shouted Merrick.

"Stay out of this, Phil!" Daniel snapped.

Merrick was startled. Like everyone else apart from Zoë, he had no idea who this person was.

"DID YOU OIL THE GEARS?!" Daniel thundered pushing his foot harder onto Hodges' face.

Hodges was screaming in agony. A few of the villagers moved forwards.

"NO!" Hodges screamed. "NO, I DIDN'T!"

Everyone stopped and stared at Hodges.

"WHY?!" bellowed Daniel.

"I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO PUT THE OIL!" wailed Hodges in despair. "I'M NO FLAMING MECHANIC!"

"Damn right, you're not!" said Daniel fiercely. "You're a total pigs-arse of a human being!"

Merrick stepped forwards. "Alright, that's enough!" he ordered.

But Daniel took his foot off Hodges and brought his left fist down hard onto his face, knocking him unconscious. He then stood back and stood over Hodges' body, breathing very heavily.

"Who the hell do you think are you?" Merrick shouted. "You have no right to do that!"

"Yeah!" agreed Mickey Murphy. "International Rescue are supposed to help people not hurt them!"

Daniel looked at them coldly. "With him, I make an exception," he said. "I will not stand for anybody who lets my father's windmill burn down and get away with it!"

The villagers stared in disbelief. Merrick backed away, his eyes wide with astonishment. "No…you can't be!"

Zoë stepped forwards standing between Merrick and Daniel.

"Zoë, is he…?" Merrick was too shocked to even finish his sentence.

"Yes, Philip," said Zoë nodding tearfully. "He's my son."

Everyone else looked at Daniel – they were all completely speechless.

* * *

Daniel knew he had a lot of explaining to do now that the villagers had found out the truth of why he'd been absent for so long. To his surprise, they were understanding and forgiving, except for Hodges who was taken away in disgrace by two policemen. By the time Daniel had finished, the dawn light had revealed the true extent of the damage caused to the windmill.

"And there you have it," Daniel finished. "That's why I haven't been back."

"I'm so sorry, Daniel," said Mayor Grange putting his hands on Daniel's shoulder. "I promise you, we'll do everything in our power to make this right." He paused and looked at the sad remains of the windmill. "Although, I have no idea how long it will take."

"We don't have the money or resources to make repairs," added Merrick.

"It could take years," agreed Mickey Murphy.

"I may not live here anymore, but that doesn't mean I can't help you," Daniel said. "I will provide you with the money, equipment and if necessary the manpower you would need in order to rebuilt it. However, I must insist that you all comply to two very specific agreements before I give you anything."

"Of course," said Mayor Grange. "Whatever you wish."

"First – you will rebuild the windmill exactly the way it was when it was first restored," said Daniel. "And second – you will all keep my presence here and my life a bloody damn secret from the rest of the world. International Rescue needs its privacy in order to operate effectively. Is that understood?"

The villagers all agreed and promised to keep Daniel's secret.

"Thank you," said Daniel. He then smiled for the first time since he'd landed which made everyone feel better.

As the villagers set to work to clean up the mess made by the fire and the guests from the party left to go home, Mayor Grange noticed a group of young girls in similar uniforms to Daniel walking towards them. Katie had insisted they all keep out of sight until Daniel had sorted things out before showing themselves. However, Rosie, Leanna, Cassidy and Sian had stayed inside Thunderbird 2 as they didn't feel it was there place to be a part of what was a private Tracy business.

"I suppose we'd better let you go," Mayor Grange said to Daniel. "I see your friends have come to see how you are."

Daniel looked round and saw the girls approaching. "Oh, they're not just my friends, Ken," he said with a grin. "They're my daughters."

Mayor Grange was speechless for the second time in his life.

* * *

Normally, once a situation had been dealt with, International Rescue would return to Tracy Island ready for the next assignment. However, Zoë had decided it was the perfect opportunity for Daniel and the girls to visit their old home. Even though they were all British, the girls had been born in America and as such had never seen the building that their house on Tracy Island was based on. They looked in every room there was to be seen in the house - ranging from the bedrooms of Zoë, Daniel and Kerry to the bedrooms where Brackett and the other staff members slept and from the big drawing rooms to the banqueting hall. It was all spectacular the girls thought and they quickly began to notice similarities to their own home on Tracy Island.

"So this is where you used to live," said Laura.

"It's so beautiful!" remarked Wizzy.

"Now we know why you built our new house the way you did," agreed Beth.

"The farm we grew up on was nice," said Adrienne. "But I wouldn't have minded living here."

"Agreed," said Katie. "There would've been more trees to climb and explore."

Daniel smiled. "I should've brought you all here a long time ago," he said. "I guess just time wasn't on our side. And now, I do believe there was somewhere we all needed to go."

The place that Daniel was referring to was in fact the graveyard of the village church. Daniel had told Zoë that the girls had wanted to visit the grave of the grandfather they never knew and that he'd shown them the old photo. Zoë understood and agreed.

As they made their way through the graveyard, the girls looked at all the gravestones. They were all in very old condition and the names on most of them were virtually unreadable.

"Gosh, I hope Grandad has a better gravestone than these," Wizzy whispered to Beth.

"Which one is his, Dad?" asked Laura.

"The one right at the very end," said Daniel. "The biggest one."

Daniel was right. They soon reached the end of the graveyard where stood a long concrete tomb that was did not look anything as old or neglected as the other gravestones were. On the front was the tomb was the following…

ROBERT TRACY

1991 - 2055

A LOVING HUSBAND, FATHER AND SON OF HACKLEY

Nobody said a word. Daniel and Zoë stayed back. So did Rosie, Cassidy, Sian and Leanna. This was a moment for Daniel's daughters. The five sisters slowly approaches the tomb. The didn't know what to say. The life span of their grandfather was a lot shorter than they'd known. And he'd died the same year that Laura was born. Laura looked round at Daniel. He knew what she was going to ask and he nodded. So Laura went up to the tomb and got down onto her knees before placing her hand on the tomb. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer in her head. Katie, Beth, Adrienne and Wizzy watched their sister until she had finished. Then when she had, she stepped away so that they could each have a turn.

Cassidy nudged Daniel. "What was he like?" she asked quietly so as not to distract the girls.

Daniel looked down at Cassidy. "A wonderful man," he answered. He didn't need to say more. Instead he and Zoë stepped forwards to join the girls. Wizzy had just finished so she moved to let Zoë have her turn. It was very moving. Even though Robert Tracy was a man that Leanna, Rosie, Sian and Cassidy knew virtually nothing about, they couldn't help but feel sad for the Tracy's.

Zoë had now finished and she moved aside to let Daniel have his turn when suddenly a rumbling sound made everyone look up. There was a small grey object coming down towards them.

"Wait…is that…?" Beth tried to say but lost the words.

Everyone watched in astonishment as the space-elevator touched down on the road next to the church. The doors of the elevator opened and Kerry emerged from it. She walked into the graveyard, passed where Sian, Cassidy, Leanna and Rosie were standing and walked up to where the others were. She didn't say a word. She didn't need to. They could guess why she was there.

"Kerry, my darling!" Zoë walked over and embraced her daughter. "How did you know?"

"I noticed where you were all heading and thought I should join you," Kerry replied.

Kerry then came over to Daniel and they embraced as well. This was something that was long overdue for all of them.

"After you," Daniel said to Kerry. He stood aside.

Kerry looked at the tomb and bent down. She too placed her hand on it. But she did something that none of the others, not even Zoë had done. She began to weep. This made the others start to feel the same. The girls just hung their heads with their eyes closed.

"I'm sorry," Kerry said miserably. "I shouldn't be doing this!"

Zoë stepped forwards and helped Kerry away so that Daniel could finally have his moment with his father's tomb. After about thirty seconds, he finally managed to speak. "Miss you, Dad. Love you always."

Now Zoë began to shed a few tears. Cassidy took Sian's hand. They almost wanted to cry themselves but managed to contain themselves. Leanna however, did begin to sniff. Not because of Robert, but because this was making her miss her own parents. Rosie saw this and put a comforting arm around her.

"Is it right?" Daniel asked. "To have just a stone back home when the real grave is here?"

"Of course it is," Zoë answered. "We can't come here on a regular basis. You know that. Having the stones of Robert and the others. None of them are actually buried there. And we do need something to regularly visit to remember those we've lost." She took hold of her son's arm. "Of course it's right."

There was silence before Rosie eventually broke it. "You all okay?" asked Rosie.

They all looked at her and then nodded.

"We are now, Rosie," Daniel said. "We are now."

* * *

Kerry went back to the house with the others. The space-elevator had gone back up to Thunderbird 5. Kerry had decided to go back to Tracy Island with the others so she could spend the night with her family. They were about to head back to their machines which had been moved from the windmill hill to the front lawn of the old Tracy Mansion when Zoë emerged from the building with Brackett. Zoë was carrying her bags.

"Are you not staying, Mum,?" Daniel asked.

"No, I'm not, Daniel," Zoë replied. "I can't stay in a place that I used to call 'home' any longer. I'm afraid it's time to say 'goodbye' to the old place."

It was now that Daniel realised. "This is why you wanted the girls to see it," he said. "Are you selling it?"

"Not exactly," said Zoë. "It should still be a part of our family, but I think it's just a waste of time and money for it to be looked after when nobody lives in it."

"Don't Mr Brackett and the other servants live in it though?" asked Cassidy.

"That's not what she means, Cassidy," whispered Rosie.

"However, I have already decided who is going to live here from now on," said Zoë. "I know they can be trusted."

Daniel and the girls all looked round to see a red estate car pull up on the gravel in front of the house. Brackett went and opened the door to let Wendy, Shannon and Molly out.

"Good choice," Daniel said approvingly. He then went over to have a hug with the two girls. "Wow, you two have grown since the last time I saw you," he said.

"We knew you'd come back and see us one day," said Shannon.

"When will you be back again?" asked Molly.

"Ah, my dear Molly, that I really cannot say for certain," said Daniel. "As you can gather," he added pointing to the small International Rescue symbol on his green utility sash. "This keeps me and my girls pretty busy. But I will be back some day - you mark my words."

"We understand," said Shannon.

Daniel stood up. "I have to go," he said. "But I will be back. Enjoy your new house and play area."

Wendy and the girls smiled happily. Daniel moved aside so that they could say farewell to Zoë.

"Goodbye, Wendy," said Zoë once they'd finished hugging each other. She then looked up at the house. She couldn't help but shed a couple of tears. "Look after it for me. It still means a lot to me."

"I will do, Zoë," Wendy replied, now that Zoë was no longer her boss. "You have my word."

Zoë then said 'goodbye' to Molly and Shannon and walked over to Brackett.

"This is it then, m'lady," Brackett said. "The end of an era, so to speak."

"Not entirely," said Zoë. She then gave the butler and grateful hug and a kiss. "Thank you for looking after me."

"My pleasure, m'lady," said Brackett. He seemed close to tears almost as well.

Kerry and Daniel looked at each other and smiled. Then they went over to Brackett.

"You've looked after her well, Brackett," Daniel said. "And the house as well. It's still exactly how we remember it."

Brackett nodded. "Just doing my job, Master Daniel," he said. "And I will continue to do so until the day that I die."

Kerry hugged Brackett now. "Thank you for looking after us all those years ago," she said.

"My please, Miss Kerry," Brackett replied. "Any time."

Kerry let go of Brackett and Daniel stepped forward so he could shake his hand. He quickly glanced over at Wendy, Molly and Shannon who were standing at the edge of the lawn still. "Look after them as well," he said. "And make sure those two little rascals behave themselves."

"We heard that!" Molly and Shannon called.

Everyone laughed.

"Will do, sir," said Brackett. "That's a promise."

Zoë, Daniel and Kerry turned and walked back towards the waiting machines. The girls had already gone back to them with Wizzy and Leanna having taken Zoë's bags aboard Thunderbird 2. After stepping onto the lift underneath Thunderbird 2's nose, Daniel and Zoë gave one final wave to Wendy, Shannon, Molly and Brackett before being lifted up into the ship.

With a rumble and a roar, Thunderbirds 1 and 2 fired up their engines and lifted up off the mansion lawn before turning round and heading off into the distance. Wendy, Shannon, Molly and Brackett waved as they went, and as the two machines passed over Hackley, everyone who saw them cheered and waved as well.

"Well, that's it," said Brackett to the others. "Shall we, m'lady?"

"Of course, Brackett," Wendy replied. "Lead the way."

Brackett led Wendy, Molly and Shannon up to their new home. It was well past the girls' bedtime but they weren't tired at all, and Wendy wanted them to enjoy the moment rather than force them into going to bed straight away.

Twenty-four hours ago the village had only one hero, the late Robert Tracy. And now it had a new hero. His son – Daniel Tracy.


End file.
